Commodore Junk — page 238: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

PLANS OF ESCAPE. 231 hour later, Humphrey unclosed his eyes, it was with his head throbbing with fever, a wild half-delirious dreaminess troubling his brain, and the great stone image glaring down at him through the dim green twilight of the prison room. It was a bitter experience for the prisoner to find that he had overrated his powers. The effort, the excitement, and the malaria of the forest prostrated him for a fortnight, and at the end of that time he found that he was in no condition to make a further attempt at securing the means of escape. He lay in his gloomy chamber thinking over the buccaneer’s insolent proposal, and fully expected that he would resent the way in which it had been received; but to his surprise he received the greatest of attention, and wine, fruit, and various delicacies that had evidently come from the stores of some well- found ship were placed before him to tempt his appetite. Dinny was his regular attendant, and always cheery and ready to help him in every way ; but no more was said for a time respecting an evasion, though Humphrey was waiting his time; for after lying for hours, day after day, debating his position, he came to the conclusion that if he did escape it must be through this light-spinited Irishman. His captor did not come to him as far as he knew ; but he had a suspicion that more than once the buccaneer had been watching from some point or another unknown to him. But one day a message was brought by Bart, who entered the cloomy chamber and in his short, half-surly way thus delivered himself— “ Orders from the skipper, sir.” “Orders from your captain?” said Humphrey, flushing. “To say that he is waiting for your answer, sir.” “ My answer, man? I gave him my answer.” “And that he can wait any time, but a message from you that you want to see him will bring him here,” Gomicbooks =